U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Mark Uyeda called for renewed efforts to bring private market exposure into retirement accounts, emphasizing that doing so would better align 401(k) plans with professionally managed pension funds.
Speaking at a recent event in New York hosted by the Managed Funds Association, a trade group representing hedge funds and other private asset managers, Uyeda argued that private investments could offer long-term growth potential for younger workers with extended time horizons. When discussing how to get average workers increased exposure to private investments, Uyeda stated, “Especially think about younger workers, someone who’s not going to retire for 30 or 35 years in the future; the investment horizon makes a lot of sense for private assets there,” he said. Despite this, Uyeda noted that current accredited investor standards based on income and net worth tend to skew toward older, wealthier individuals.
The remarks build on earlier efforts under former SEC Chair Jay Clayton, who served during President Trump’s first term and supported allowing defined-contribution retirement plans to allocate up to 10% of their portfolios to private securities. While this approach gained traction during the Trump administration, it faced challenges during the Biden era.
During the panel, Uyeda also highlighted the recent SEC no-action letter involving Rule 506(c) offerings. The letter proposed that natural persons who commit $200,000, or legal entities that commit more than $1 million, without incurring debt or other financing qualify as accredited investors. Uyeda said he was “really pleased to see that no-action letter,” stating that it could be a practical method to help participants meet the accredited investor threshold in private placements.
In broader remarks, Uyeda, who served as acting chair of the SEC earlier this year before the arrival of Chair Paul Atkins, confirmed his desire to return the SEC to its core mission. “One of the most important things that we did is to try and get the agency back to its traditional mission… of protecting investors; protecting fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitating capital formation,” he said. He also added that the SEC should “get out of the business of regulating,” signaling a rollback of more expansive rulemaking seen in recent years.
Similarly, Uyeda emphasized the importance of increased staff engagement with market participants, including greater use of no-action letters and interpretive guidance to resolve compliance friction.
The SEC is expected to release its updated regulatory agenda in the coming weeks.
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